How to Stop Junk Mail in 6 Easy Steps

6 Steps to get off mailing lists to STOP Junk Mail

Step 1: Stop the Flow

Go to the source of the flood of mailings and turn off the faucet! Remove your name from mailing lists at http://www.dmachoice.org. It can take up to 90 days for the flow to stop since many mailings are already in print or production.

Step 2: No More Credit Card Solicitations

If you've ever filled out a product warranty card, purchased a new home or vehicle, supplied your credit information to a lending institution, or simply carried a credit card, you can be sure your name and address are being circulated among an array of credit card companies hungry for your business. Don't despair -- there is help. To eliminate credit card promotional mailings, call 1-888-567-8688 (that's 888-5OPT-OUT) or visit http://www.optoutprescreen.com. You will have the opportunity to choose either a five-year removal or a permanent removal. For your personal credit cards, ask the company to place you on their "in house" list that is not sold or traded to other companies.

Step 3: Put the Kibosh on Unwanted Phone Books and Catalogs

Go online to opt out of Dex. Once you've received a catalog in the mail that you don't want, call them to opt out. Oftentimes they're happy to take you off the list becuase it helps them save money by not printing unwanted catalogs.

Step 4: Contribute to Charities, Not Mailings

If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year. The American Institute on Philanthropy offers several tips on reducing junk mail and phone solicitations from charities at http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/seventips.html.

Step 5: Stop Junk Promo Products

If you've had it with companies sending you mailings or promo products you don't want, there is an option. First, look for any of the following phrases: return service requested, forwarding service requested, address service requested, or change service requested. If you find any of these phrases, write "refused, returned to sender" on the unopened envelope. Mail sent to "Resident," "Current Resident," or "Current Occupant" can be refused if it contains one of the above endorsements, or is sent First Class. When you receive unsolicited promo products, you can mark the envelope “Return to Sender” and put it back in the mail.

Step 6: Get Off the List of ALL Direct Marketers

There are several smaller list brokers and direct marketing firms in the U.S. besides the DMA. You’ll recognize a lot of them on the list below. Just as you did with the DMA in step one, send or phone in all the variations of your name and address to the list brokers and direct marketing firms listed below. Start saving the labels of all the variations of the names and addresses, which come to your mailbox. Every variation, no matter how small (or comical), is another name on a list, which gets sold to literally thousands of businesses, so include all variations! If you prefer to go the snail mail route in removal, cut and paste actual mailing labels onto a sheet, make copies, add your signature beside each name variation on each sheet, and send them off to each of the 5 addresses below. Indicate the following: "Please remove my name and address from your mailing lists and do not rent, sell or trade my name or address."

Have the Valpak mailing label handy and fill in your information exactly as it is printed. If you like coupons but don’t want to receive all that mail, go to www.valpak.com to choose and print coupons by geographical location.

Epsilon Data Services
Abacus Cooperative Databases
Send an email with “remove” in the subject line and your full name, including middle initial, and address in the message. If you changed your address over the past six months, include your previous address as well.

Boulder County, CO (Jan. 21, 2013) – Twenty Eco-Cycle Green Star Schools (schools striving for Zero Waste) in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley Schools Districts have signed up for Eco-Cycle’s Stop Junk Mail for GOOD contest beginning Jan. 21. The competing schools will have two weeks to encourage their staff and students’ families to sign up for a free Eco-Cycle Stop Junk Mail for GOOD account and opt out of as many pieces of unwanted mail as possible. As a result, families will enjoy emptier mailboxes and the planet will enjoy healthier forests.

Eco-Cycle has partnered with the best mail preference service in the nation to stop unwanted mail in Boulder County and protect our dwindling natural resources.

We want to get 5,000 Boulder County residents and businesses off junk mail in the next year. Help us reach our goal by spreading the word! Like this page or tweet about it with the buttons above, or email this page to your friends.

5 Tips to Stay Off Junk Mail

Getting off junk mail can be as easy as a few clicks with our new service. On the other hand, staying off junk mail can take a bit more effort. Here are 5 surefire ways to do it.

The #1, Must-Practice Tip: Use the magic words "Please do not rent, sell, or trade my name or address."

These are the magic words you’ll want to use when you’re filling out forms like warranty cards, subscriptions, raffles, customer information cards, credit card applications, memberships for an organization, or pretty much any time your submit your name and address to anyone. Write them out next to your personal information, and repeat these words when making purchases over the phone or on the internet, and Voilá! You'll stay off mailing lists.

A note about warranties: Be advised that it is not necessary to fill out a warranty card to benefit from the warranty on your purchase. Warranty and registration cards are usually just a way to get consumer information from you which is then often sold to direct mailers. Read the fine print to see if you are required to return the card to validate the warranty.

Tip # 2: Get on “in house” credit card lists
Contact your personal credit card companies and ask them to place your name and information on their "in house” list that is not sold or traded to other companies. This will prevent more credit card offers from being mailed to your home.

Tip # 3: Prevent charity solicitations
If you contribute once a year to a charitable organization, ask them to send you only one donation request per year, or see if they can send you a paperless request via e-mail. Click here for a sample letter that you can send to charities to reduce solicitations.

Tip # 4: Watch out for contests and free offers
Their purpose is often to obtain your name for mailing lists or to sell you something. If you do sign up for one, be sure to use the magic words.

Tip # 5: 1-800-NO THANKS
When you receive a catalog or publication you don’t want, take the 30 seconds it requires to nip it in the bud. Call the 1-800 number to have your name removed from their list to stop the spreading of your name before it starts again.

TAKE ACTION

Tell the U.S. Post Office you have the right to opt-out of receiving unaddressed mail at your home or business, meaning mail addressed to "current resident." The Post Office is trying to increase its door to door delivery service, which may increase the amount of advertising mail you get by 5 times! Learn more by watching the video below.